Mondor, 24, a Canadian, set the course record of 23:59 in 2003. Last year, she dropped out after two miles because of an ankle sprain 10 days earlier.

This year, Mondor is in much better shape, except for a shin splint. She lives in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., and trains with Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor.

But winning today's 4.748-mile race - the 69th annual Thanksgiving Day run - won't be easy. Snow and cold temperatures are forecast. The last time it snowed significantly the day of the road race was 1989.

"I won't promise you anyone will break the record because it might be tough conditions," Mondor said. "I'm very proud of being here for your first snow. Thanks a lot for that."

The women's field was deep until several top runners scratched, including Olympians Kate O'Neill and Colleen DeReuck and Kate's twin sister Laura O'Neill. But the field still includes Kim Smith, a New Zealand Olympian who won last year's race in 24:47 only a few days after winning the NCAA cross country title for Providence; four-time Providence All-American Roisin McGettigan of Ireland; and British Olympian Catherine Berry. Five-time winner Amy Rudolph won't run because of an illness in the fall that cut into her training time, but she will be on hand to watch the race.

Her husband, Mark Carroll of Ireland, a two-time former winner, will run. Carroll dropped out of the Nov. 6 New York City Marathon at the 20-mile mark because of a nagging hip injury.

Another former champion, 2002 winner Andrew Letherby of Australia, will also run.

"It's the toughest field since I've been here," said Letherby, 32, who lives in Boulder, Colo. "There's a lot of young fast guys - Alastair Cragg, Nick Willis, Mark Carroll. There's a lot of guys with a lot more speed than I have, but I think knowing the course is an advantage."

Carroll, who won in 1998 and 2000, also knows the course well.

"There's a lot of running after 3 miles," he said. "You get down the steep [Porter Street] hill and you got 1.75 miles to go. It's important to have your legs under you. A few years I've gone up the hill very hard and down the hill very hard and I've gotten down the hill and I've been pretty tired. ... I'll run hopefully a smart race and hopefully come through in the second half."

Cragg, 25, of Ireland, won the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter championship last year at the University of Arkansas and the Irish 1,500 national title. He has never raced at Manchester.

He and Willis went out to take a look at the course Wednesday. "It looks pretty tough," Cragg said. "Between the cold and the hill, it's going to be a rough morning."